The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-03-17
BEECHER DEATH-STRICKEN
The Blow Came So Gradually It's Seri-
BUSINESS Was Not Recognized
at First.

BUSINESS Was Not Recognized
at First.
Mr.. Beecher Unconscious Most of the
Time and the End Almost Hourly
Expected.
STRICKEN DOWN.
MR.. BEECHER DYING.
NEW YORK, Special Telegram. March g.
The apoplectic stroke which thu Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher's physicians have long feared
came to-day with sudden and startling ef-
feet There were, Of course, preliminary
symptoms running through Thursday and
Friday, but no one recognized In
them anything but a trifing illness, and
the blow came at last with the force
and horror of an unexpected bolt. There is,
In fact, little If any hope of the great preach
er's ecovery He may linger until Sunday
morning or Monday, with even some con-
seriousness and show Of life, but beyond that
the doctors in attendance can at present
give no assurance, and at a late hour to-
night appearances indicated that Plymouth g
pastor would die .op the Sabbath MI:
Beecher has been Ill since Thursday.
He had been in this city the greater
part of the day and went to his sons house
In Brooklyn late in the afternoon with a
feeling Of nausea. BY the time he reached
the house he seemed quite Frustrated. DR..
W. s. Searle. who has been his family physi-
clan for years. was summoned In addition
to nausea and headache tie doctor found
MI. Beecher suffering from a soreness about
the throat and chest to such an ex-
tent that he feared IN attack of
pneumonia These symptoms quickly
passed away and he grew better, but when
he went to bed he complained of a severe
pain in the head. After a while he dropped
OF to sleep, but awoke at intervals all
through the night Toward morning he
vomited considerably. Mrs. Beecher re-
NAMED in constant attendance upon him all
night After daylight he began to improve,
and by the time the doctor called he was
better. Through Friday his condition was
favorable. qufeting all alarm felt by the
family. He did not feel well enough to get
up, however, and was compelled to remain
away from the prayer meeting on Friday
night
NUMEROUS INQUIRIES
were made about his illness after the meet
ing, but as the family and physician felt
sure that everything would be all right in O
few days, no general alarm was caused.
This morning, however, a sudden change for
the worse took place. 1t was Of such an
alarming character that DR.. William A. Ham
mond OF this city was hastily summoned He
and Dr.. Ssarle made an examination, and de-
clared that Mr.. Beecher was suffering from
an apoplectic attack. He lay in a semi
comatose condition, but was reused by the
nH~~tc ~ %h4 I~1t@~o Noskl,o. ~~~o1S
nor his unfailing sense of humor had quite
forsaken him.
Can you raise your arm, Mr.. Beecher?" asked
Yes. I guess so" came the low reply.
How high can you raise it,"
Well, high enough to hit you, Doctor" said
the clergyman. with a feeble smile.
He did not seem to be suffering any pain,
and when approached by Mrs Beecher and
other members Of the family he looked up
as though he recognized them and knew
h was going on. Later on in the after
noon, however, he closed his eyes and sunk
into partial inconsistencies. Mrs. Beecher
and DR.. Hammond were standing by his
bedside discussing in whispers the
chances Of saving his life, when
ArA Beecher suddenly suggested
that perhaps her husband understood
what they were saying. The doctor told her
to ask him. and bending low Mrs. Beecher
said: @Henry, Henry, do you know what we
said about your" MI. Beecher seemed to
make q supreme effort His lips Enclosed,
and his breath came more quickly. His right
hand opened and closed convulsively
and at last a murmur of words came forth
hat fell upon ears strained to the utmost
But the eyes never opened: "You-were-say-
Observation-Disclosures" was the dis
jointed sentence so painfully uttered. Then
A STRANGE HING HAPPENED.
The words seemed as If spoken in a dream,
but the shadow Of q smile fluttered across
the noble mouth only to vanish into an
expression almost of Indifference. T. b in
tonation of Mr.: Beecher's voice expressed
absolute Indifference, as If he spoke of the
chances of life and death of an entire
stranger: There wa neither hope nor hope
l~essness; neither gladness or sorrow. These
were the last words he uttered The story
of Mr.. Beecher's alarming condition was not
made known until after noon, and even then
it travelled slowly: There have been so
many groundless rumors about his health
within the last few years that few were dis
posed to credit what was said about it
to-day. A visit to his house in Hicks
street, however, showed that it was
ACs AA0 NJ UUAACIA0 was 1bSuOu ~ y
o'clock. 1t was pinned to the front door.
and stated that MI. Beecher had an attack
of apoplexy; that he was suffering no pain,
md that bulletins would be issued hourly.
SUNDAY TELEGRAMs.
With the second visit of Dr.. W. A. Ham,
mono to the Plymouth pastors residence,
Brooklyn, to-day. the last lingering hope of
Mr.. Beecher's recovery was abandoned. DR..
Hammond was driven to the house at $50
p. m. He foun his illustrious patient in a
state Of profound coma. So complete was
the paralysis Of the sensorial nerves that
when the physician pinched the flesh Of the
left side until his nails met, Mr.. Beecher
failed to evince the faintest evidence of
pain. Even when DR.. Hammond lifted the
left eyelid and pressed with his finger the
eyeball, the delicate muscles did not twitch.
A similar experiment on the right eye, how
ever, produced a slight shrinking and mus
cular contraction, but there was no evidence
Of active sensibility. The act Of swallow
ing was attended with even greater diff
Guilty than on Saturday and the desire for
food was gone The throbbing Of the heart
was intermittent-that is, every third, fourth
Or fifth pulsation failed to complete it's
action, and it was only a question OF a few